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Prompt Shutoff of XTE J1739-302

ATel #186; D. M. Smith (UCSC), C. B. Markwardt and J. H. Swank (NASA/GSFC), W. A. Heindl (UCSD)
on 30 Aug 2003; 05:16 UT
Credential Certification: David M. Smith (dsmith@ssl.berkeley.edu)

Subjects: X-ray, Gamma Ray, Binary, Transient

Referred to by ATel #: 338

RXTE was pointed directly to XTE J1739-302 between 06:06 and 06:58 UT on 28 August. Shortly afterward, a regularly-scheduled RXTE scan of the Galactic Bulge (C. Markwardt, P.I.) was performed. Neither observation detected XTE J1739-302. Precise upper limit calculations are not yet available but should be in the neighborhood of < 5 mCrab at the 3 sigma level for both methods of observation.

These pointings began only 35 hours after the time quoted as the beginning of the outburst by Sunyaev et al. (ATEL #181). Five outbursts of XTE J1739-302 have been detected by RXTE in recent years, with only upper limits to their duration, ranging from 3 to 5 days (D. M. Smith et al., 2003 HEAD meeting, abstract 17.33). The unusual brevity of the current outburst suggests that it is from the same source, and it is possible that all its outbursts last on the order of a day or less.